A bone roles a physical supporter of body and also roles a storing place of an inorganic matter, particularly calcium and phosphorus.
A bone is consisted of an inorganic matter whose principle ingredient is phosphorus and calcium, an organic matter whose principle ingredient is type I collagen, and water. Amount of bone increase continuously, and then reach to the highest point about age of 20 years, and continuously decrease from after about age of 30 years. Particularly the Yeoman is faced abrupt lose of bone during 5-10 years after postmenopausal at about age of 50 years due to deficient of estrogen. The strength of bone is originated in a density of bone, and it gives an effect to microstructure, size and geometry of bone. A bone is an organ that has an outer layer consisted with a connective tissue deposited a mineral and an inside having a bone marrow being in a bone marrow cavity. Also, a bone marrow has hematopoiesis, and a heniatopoietic stem cell of bone marrow is differentiated to an osteoclast cell absorbing a bone and stromal cell of bone marrow is differentiated to an osteoblast cell building up a bone (Manolagas S C, Jilka R L: Bone marrow, cytokines, and bone remodeling. N. Engl. J. Med. 332 (5):305-11, 1995).
An osteoporosis is a basic disease of skeletal system related to a bone such as myeloma, bone arthritis, hypercalcemia and so fortrh, and increases sensitivity for fracture and decrease strength of bone. At bone, a formation of bone by osteoblast cell and a destruction of bone by osteoclast cell is always coincided, and reconstruction process is consistently happened to normal function of bone. However, if a balance of reconstruction process between absorbance of bone and formation of bone incline to absorbance of bone, absorbance of bone by osteoclast cell is increased, and decrease of bone amount and weakening of bone strength is happened to be induced osteoporosis being increased danger of fracture in conclusion. The pharmaceutical preparation for treating osteoporosis being used currently may be classified an inhibiting agent of bone absorbance and an accelerating agent of bone formation.
An inhibiting agent of bone absorbance is female honnone, bisphosphonate, selective follicle hormone receptor substance, calcitonine, and so on, an accelerating of bone formation is a pharmaceutical preparation for parathyroid gland hormone, active vitamin D and the like. However, the absorbent ratio of bisphosphonate as a strong inhibiting agent of bone absorbance is low and it has side effect for gastroenteric gland, an agent for follicle hormone also has a possibility being capable of inducing a breast cancer and uterine cancer when dosing for long time. Therefore, there has being a research to improve a drawback of a pharmaceutical preparation being used currently (David Goltzrnan. Discoveries, Drugs and Skeletal Disorders, nature review 1, 784-796 (October 2002)).
For an action of bone remodeling, while OPG (osteoprotegerin), RANTKL (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand), RANK (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB) protein which is essential for activating and divergence of bone sub-cell and osteoclast cell and substance is identified at about 2000 year, and its role is found, hormones such as follicle hormone and parathyroid gland hormone, cytokines such as inteleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and growth factor such as inmmune growth factor (IGF) which effect to bone metabolism is examined and a research for these protein is being progressed. Except for the above, a research is being progressed for protein effecting to adhesion and activation for bone of osteoclast cell, acting progress for transferring signal, and translating factor (AP1, c-src), and various growth factor (TGF-β, PDGF, FGF), lipid regulating factors (for example, PPAR) and the like (J H Tobias, A M Flanagan, A M Scutt: Novel therapeutic targets in osteoporosis. Expert Opin. Ther. Targets 6(1):41-56, 2002).
On the other hand, it is only an agent for parathyroid gland hormone that approved from FDA, USA as a pharmaceutical preparation for treating osteoporosis, an accelerating agent of bone formation but not an inhibiting agent of bone absorbance. Most inhibiting agent of bone absorbance applied to treat osteoporosis show its function by reducing a bone turnover rate, therefore in case that a lose of bone had already been high progressed or in case of the patient having a high bone turnover rate or when considering prevention of fracture with long term, the necessity for an accelerating agent of bone formation is gradually increased. Therefore, a research is being progressed for targeting a osteoblast cell undertaking a formation of bone other than conventional fluorine compound and parathyroid gland hormone (S. K, Yeem, Bone Formation-Stimulating Agent As Agent Treating Osteoporosis, Korean Endocrine Association, Vol. 14-2, 1999).
It is recently found that autoimmune arthritis and osteoporosis is closely related to unbalance of various cytokines playing an important role for immunoactivity control of human body. For example, OPG, RANK, RANKL controlling a divergence and activation of osteoclast cell is essential factor for controlling a divergence and production of immunocell, and RNAKL induce production of osteoclast cell and destruction of bone by activated T cell. Such as the above description, it is proved that a metabolism of immuno-system and bone functionally related to each other, it is focused to development of pharmaceutical preparation for treating and preventing osteoporosis through normalization of immuno-controlling function. (Y. A, Kong; Osteoprotegerin ligand: Controlling factor for immune reaction and bone, Biowave vol. 4 No. 5, 2002). Particularly, it is also necessary demanded for development of novel material being capable of replacing a conventional hormone agent and organic compound obtained by chemical synthesis having toxicity and side effect such as estrogen. Therefore, since these novel materials can be found from a natural object, it is actively progressed a trial to invent a new drug from a natural object.
The present inventers recognize the above conventional problem, and search a natural object that remarkably reduce an activity of osteoclast cell and concurrently activate osteoblast cell facilitating production of bone. As the result, the present inventers notice possibility that utilize beta-glucan known as having immunity increase and anticancer effect for treating osteoporosis.